Mommy FTW

These last few days have been very fall-like!  I’m sure summer isn’t over yet – but more rainy and gloomy days are on the horizon, so I decided to do a re post / update on an old topic I visited last winter – Indoor Baby Friendly Places in the Fort Greene / Clinton Hill area:

The Booklyn Flea – On Sundays you can find the Brooklyn Flea indoors at One Hanson Place (the big clock tower) from 10am to 5pm.  The Flea is on the main floor and lower level.  According to one mom, the lower level has food options, and the upper level is where the sales go on.  She said the lower level is a great place to take kids and let them roam around, and that there is space for strollers.  So if you are looking for a weekend activity – check out the indoor Flea!

Story time at Greenlight Bookstore – Greenlight Bookstore is located at 686 Fulton Street and has a free story time on Saturday mornings at 10:30 AM.  Check it out for more weekend fun.  And for any day of the week – Greenlight has a great childrens book section – you can browse while your child plays in the cardboard house, draws on the chalkboard, and snuggles with the giant stuffed bear.

Story time at Brownstone Books – Brownstone Books is located at 409 Lewis Ave in Bed Stuy.  Story time happens every Wednesday and Saturday from 12-1pm.  Unfortunately this is smack in the middle of Cameron’s nap time, so I have yet to check it out.  The suggested donation is $5.  For more information, check out the Brownstone Books website.

The Clinton Hill Library – Not only does Clinton Hill Library (380 Washington Ave) have a great and free Reading for Babies program on Tuesdays at 11:00 as well as Toddler Time on Fridays at 11, it’s a great place to take your kid to let them roam around even when no scheduled activities are going on.  We spent many a cold winter day here!

Chuck E Cheese – Now this one, I never would have thought of!  One day a few of us moms and babes were hanging out at Der Schwarze Kölner and one of the moms said that she had just been at Chuck E Cheese with her little one.  She said that it was her nanny who had originally suggested it, and although she was skeptical – it turned out to be a great place for him to roam around, and it was free (since they aren’t playing any games).  Chuck E. Cheese is located in the Atlantic Terminal Mall.

Der Schwarze Kölner aka the Beer Garden – As I mentioned above I’ve been going to the Beer Garden (710 Fulton Street) with Cameron and some other moms + babies.  It is a great rainy day (or super hot day, or snowy day) option – and they are so welcoming and nice!  Read more about Der Schwarze Kölner at this other post I wrote.

Finally, there’s the Brooklyn Children’s Museum.  It’s not really in Fort Greene / Clinton Hill – but it’s just a short drive away.  I did a complete write up on the Children’s Museum here, so check it out to get all the news you can use!

If you have other ideas to share, please leave a comment!

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On a recent hot and humid summer day Cameron and I headed to the Brooklyn Children’s Museum (located at 145 Brooklyn Avenue – @ St. Marks Avenue) for the first time.  I had heard it was great fun especially for the kids, so I was excited.

Cameron and I drove over – it’s a pretty quick and easy trip down Atlantic Ave to Brooklyn Ave.  I had been worried about street parking… but it worked out beautifully.  In this neck of the woods street cleaning happens from 8:30-10am.  The Museum opens at 10am.  Perfect!  So, when I got there at a few minutes after 10 there was ample parking directly across the street.

Admission to the Museum is a little steep at $7.50 per person – only children under 1 are free.  They stamp your hand so that you can come and go as many times as you like in one day.  Keep this in mind if you want to head out for lunch.

Cameron was first drawn down the main hallway in the center of the Museum which has a lot of flowing water and mechanical things to observe.  Our first exhibit was Neighborhood Nature.  There’s a pond the kids can look in from below getting a “fish eyes view,” some stuffed ducks which Cameron enjoyed pointing out while yelling “duck!” “duck!”

There’s a Community Garden where the kids can dig and play in the dirt (which is really just ground up cork – don’t worry they can’t get dirty at all!)  There were supposed to be watering cans and shovels the kids could play with, but there didn’t seem to be any around.  I thought there was supposed to be a place to touch horseshoe crabs and starfish – although I saw some sort of water area, there wasn’t any staff there, and I didn’t see anything larger than a gulf shrimp in them.

From here we made our way to the Science Inquiry Center.  Cameron loved the bird, chameleon,  and snake that live in here.  There was some sort of shell display with knobs Cameron slid back and fourth for a solid five minutes.  I think it was supposed to do something – but it looks like it was broken.  There were coloring pencils and paper around the kids could draw with.  There was also a light table with shapes for the kids to play with.  We unfortunately had to leave this area before Cam was done because there was a Birthday Party on the way.

Next we checked out the World of Brooklyn exhibit.  Cameron played the steel drums, got dressed up in a Carnival outfit, and touched everything in the West African Import Store.  He also really loves sitting on the Vespa.  We evacuated this area as two camp groups swooped in.

We turned our attention to the upstairs area, where we found the 30,000 object collection (which we had to flee as there were some toy cars which Cameron got upset about because they were behind glass).  Then we went to the Children of Hangzhou exhibit.  Cameron really loved the big water buffalo, but unfortunately you weren’t supposed to put the kids on it for a ride.  He found some buttons which controlled a video that he could push relentlessly, which he really enjoyed.

It was getting close to lunch time so we headed over to the Cafe.  I was pretty disappointed – the salads and sandwiches looked old and sad, and the hot food options – mini pizzas and chicken tenders – looked pretty unappetizing.  I decided to skip the food and feed Cameron at home.  I would recommend packing a lunch, or checking out the local neighborhood for something to eat.  The Museum website lists a few suggestions.

On our way towards the exit I finally spotted Totally Tots.  I had heard about this section from other moms, and probably should have headed here first.  As the name implies, this area is designed for toddlers.  Everything is at their level, and there’s lot of fun toys.  There is also a water are for the kids to splash around in.  Smocks are provided so the kids stay dry.  Cameron had a lot of fun, but it was getting on to nap time, and Cam was hungry, so we headed home.

Overall, Cam had a great time, and it was a nice way to spend a hot summer morning.  I was a little disappointed – most of the exhibits seemed pretty warn, with a lot of things broken or missing.  But I guess it doesn’t really matter since Cameron didn’t know or care.  I think for older kids they might find it a little annoying.  I would certainly consider going back, but perhaps on a free day. Free hours this summer are the second and fourth weekend of each month from 2-5pm.

For more information check out the Brooklyn Childrens Museum website at BrooklynKids.org You can also find them on Facebook and on Twitter.  For a list of all the current exhibits, check out this page of the Children’s Museum website.

Posted from New York, New York, United States.